Ten years ago I was studying at Hebrew University. I was disappointed in the quality of the butter available at Israeli supermarkets and, having become a fan of Rogov's writing through Haaretz, I wrote him an email. He informed me the best butter in the country was buffalo butter. I was pleasantly surprised to discover Israel had its own herd of buffalo and they were producing cheese and butter from it. It was truly the best butter I ever had, with a beautiful golden color. Rogov then invited me to participate in the old Strat's Place forum. It was an example of the old saying, "when the student is ready, the teacher will appear". It was at the moment in my life when I was first interested in "the finer things", food, wine, cigars, and (for what it's worth) European high culture and and tradition. Rogov impressed me equally with his knowledge as with his sense of fairness and civility--what in Yiddish is called Menschkeit. I found him masterfully balancing the idea of an open forum with the need to moderate knuckleheads. He never spoke down or made you feel inferior. He loved to inform.

He also had a way of, frankly, making the ridiculous seem cultured. For example, he once recommended tasting formica counters in order to fully appreciate the flinty notes in a grand cru chablis. He would fly into fits of fun rage over such controversial topics as the inedibility of ostrich eggs. When he said he had very interesting conversations with the dogs in his neighborhood, it was somehow plausible.

Eventually, Rogov invited me to his outdoor office on Basel Street, aka Arcaffe. It was the most thrilling conversation I had ever had, and I took voluminous notes. Whatever we spoke about (I'll have to dig up the notes) stimulated my thoughts more than I could imagine, and the conversation shot like a pinball from one topic to another. We developed a true friendship. One thing he told me but never mentioned in the forum was that he preferred to be called "Rogov", in the manner of European intellectuals who only used last names. When he found I used a pseudonym for my musical career, he lit up and it seemed to bond us. I remember thinking, "Rogov is not his name, but if he doesn't volunteer the information, I will not ask him to reveal his secret identity." In fact, there was a guy on the old forum named Edward G. Robinson who wrote wistfully of the old New York City of egg creams and kosher delicatessens. Rogov was convinced I was Edward G. Robinson due to the affection we (Rogov, me, and Ed) had for the era. I'm not sure if he believed my denials, but I was not him.

As we became closer, the pilgrimage to Basel Street became an essential part of my trips to Israel over the past ten years. He became a mentor, an uncle if not quite a father figure. He told me about how he met Rachel and I asked him for advice about girlfriends. On my last trip to Israel in September, 2009, he tried to set me up with his niece with the warning that he would kill me if I didn't treat her like a gentleman. Alas, we had no chemistry. I also remember at that time he was concerned about the Iranian threat and the future of Israel. "You know", he said looking around the North Tel Aviv streetscape, "Israel is a pretty damned good place to live." I concurred, and at that moment I think I understood an essential part of being a Israeli: the burden of being able to visualize what the country would be if there were no war.

If we consider Daniel Rogov to be a character created by David Joroff, then that character would be a man out of time, a romantic composite of various archetypes of twentieth century Jewish men. There is the genteel, cultured Jew of early 20th century Vienna, whose embrace of European culture rejects anything exclusionary, snobby, or mean; the intellectual academic Jew of postwar France who was a peer of Godard and Foucault; the Brooklyn Jew of the middle twentieth century who had the egg cream coated guts and credentials to make the case that the Great American Songbook constituted high culture (even if, as he sorrowfully noted, The Simpsons did not). And in so far as Zionism itself was a romantic movement to recreate lost diasporas inside the ancient homeland, Rogov was an archetypal Israeli. I think this explains the incongruity of a man who would have seemed to be more at home in Paris or New York. Like the prophets of old, he had a vision of what Israel could be. That vision wasn't just a place with world class restaurants and wineries; it was also a place where all its inhabitants would be welcomed and valued without having to change themselves. It is a grand vision, one impossible to dream anywhere else in the world besides Israel. As a fellow vagabond with an incurably romantic disposition, I think I understood what Rogov was doing and loved him for it.

I was repeating what Rogov stated my friends I did not mean to demean your opinions, thoughts, or words that your placed in starts place. I think we should move this part of the discussion to a different thread, and leave this thread for what it is meant to be, a living testimony to what we all felt of Daniel.

David Raccah wrote:I was repeating what Rogov stated my friends I did not mean to demean your opinions, thoughts, or words that your placed in starts place. I think we should move this part of the discussion to a different thread, and leave this thread for what it is meant to be, a living testimony to what we all felt of Daniel.

David

I think it is an important topic, but I am happy to delete my comments about this after a week or so from this discussion.

His Jewish name was David Gershon. His father's name was Louis, so the Jewish name might have been Leib or Eliezer. No-one has yet come up with information as to whether anyone in the family is saying Kaddish.

BSD. So let's target. Dovid gershon ben- is anyone saying kadish ? Let's work on it within immediately. When I asked him his and his moms hebrew name he thanked for asking-thats a flickering flame. Btw its so. "Him" to have created a thread like this. H

He told me ones, that if he was a religious man he would have to fight with G-d for all the wrongs that have happened to humanity. Interestingly he also mention, that he did not feel the need to be Jwish living in Israel, but in the time when he lived in France he always had a mezuzah on his door and he alwasu lght shabbos candles. What an amazing, amzing man he was. Oy ....

I am totally shocked. Would have not even dreamt on this to happen. I haven't been active these days in participating in forum and when I enter the forum and read his letter, I felt like crying.

Daniel will be remembered in my heart forever as my most important wine critic, a friend and my mentor on wine. Without him, I would not have received such knowledge in wine. The days in Strat's Place will be rememebered, pity it's been wiped out.

He is the most vibrant, generous, helpful , colourful, witful person I have ever met in wine and we exchanged emails , PMs and talked about one day that we will meet although we live on different continents.

Could write a book on him but for now, may him rest in peace in heaven , with a cigar in his left hand and a glass of wine on his right, toasting at us from above.

Thought it fitting to voice a sentiment that when he was around @ a time like before Pesach there would be lots of posts in the rogov forum. And basicaly because the aspect of kosher was often discussed many stopped posting here we would welcome their return and benefit probably from their opinions particularly with regard to Israeli wines. H

Agreed Harry! Let's do what Rogov would probably like us to: wine shmoozing!

I did some re-tastings this week of all the Domaines Herzberg and Netofa wines, all '09. While all the Herzberg were really good, the Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon were those that stood out. The CS is medium to full-bodied with near sweet tannins from the mid-palate to the finish, the Malbec is also medium to full but with the tannins rising only on the finish and there's is more oak as well. A good option for the Seder.

Netofa were very good though I recalled the Latour as being better than that. The Tinto remains my favorite and would be also an excellent Seder quaffer. The Rose is amongst the best on the market and is very popular, crisp and refreshing with french character. The Latour white which is a Chenin Blanc is special and very good for those who like such very dry and slightly oaked whites.

I can't be 100% sure but I feel even when Rogov was alive, most of the traffic was from and by 'insiders'. So the drop in traffic is not because we 'seculars' are put off by the intricacies of kosher-ness (which I actually try to keep up with because I find it intellectually stimulating, even if I'm put off by the basic premise that only observant Jews are allowed to handle our magic elixir).

I have not visited Rogov nor the Forum in many months, so you can only imagine my shock and dismay at learning of his passing. I based most of my wine purchases on his, and the forum members', advice, and credit you all with my growth in appreciating and understanding wine.I will miss his advice dearly, and only wish I had been one of the lucky ones to know him personally. The few opportunities passed me by, and I will always regret that.I do hope the forum continues; I have a feeling that's what he would have preferred. My sympathies, although belated, to his wife, family, and friends. I hope I would be (sort of) counted among them.

This is an amazing thread, well deserved in all aspects. While we had plenty of disagreements about wine in many regards, I always enjoyed the time spent with you as much as any I spent with anyone, drinking and kibbitzing.

It's been quite a while since I have posted on this forum. But I never stopped thinking about Daniel. I use his recipes, I use his advice, after my visit to Israel in 2005 we became rather close, I want to say friends, but probably more like grandfather and a kid, though I am not such a kid. He was just a little bit older than my own father. I've missed you Daniel, missed you a lot.

Charlie Dawg wrote:It's been quite a while since I have posted on this forum. But I never stopped thinking about Daniel. I use his recipes, I use his advice, after my visit to Israel in 2005 we became rather close, I want to say friends, but probably more like grandfather and a kid, though I am not such a kid. He was just a little bit older than my own father. I've missed you Daniel, missed you a lot.

Was thinking about him last night myself, when serving a houseguest pickled green tomatoes that I make per Daniel's recipe.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov